A Detroit nurse was caught in the act while taking two doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine this week, according to a new report.
The unidentified nurse was arrested on Monday when another employee saw her leaving her work area at the TCF Center – a convention center that now serves as a vaccination site – with two syringes of the vaccine, the WJBK reported.
The official notified Detroit security and police. When the authorities tried to confront her, she apparently refused to answer questions and asked for a lawyer, according to the report.
Now she could face criminal charges and even lose her license.
Detroit City Operations Director Hakim Berry said he was “really shocked” by the nurse’s actions.
“I’m not sure what his motives were,” he said of the nurse. “And I hope you can understand the seriousness of what you did.”
The nurse is not affiliated with a hospital and is probably affiliated with a recruitment agency that helps bring nurses to the TCF, according to WJBK.
The strict security protocols in the center probably allowed the nurse to be caught before she could leave the building with the stolen syringes, Berry said.
“Our vaccines are stored off-site in a very safe place that is alarmed and [there is] Security 24 hours a day, 7 days a week around that, ”he said. “When vaccines are delivered from a pharmacy to the nursing station, they are accompanied by security guards.”
Although the two doses had to be taken as police evidence and could not be used, all vaccinees still received one, according to the post.
Since January 13, a total of 109,000 people have been vaccinated at the TCF Center, according to Berry.
The federal government provided the doses to the city’s health department, Detroit News reported.
The Detroit Police Department continues to investigate, Chief James Craig told the newspaper.